Peter Ellis is currently Lead Economist in the Social, Urban, Rural & Resilience Global Practice of the World Bank, based in Washington, DC. His main focus is on the South Asia Region. Prior to this he was based in Jakarta, Indonesia as coordinator for the urban and local government program.  He has also worked extensively on Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Russia, India and Pakistan.  His area of expertise covers local governance, decentralization, urban development, municipal finance, and housing markets.  Before joining the World Bank he worked as a Senior Economist at Standard & Poor’s.  He holds degrees in Earth Sciences, Economics and Urban Studies from the University of Cape Town, South Africa and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.